Waistband for garments



June 26, 1962 H. HARDlE 3,040,330

WAISTBAND FOR GARMENTS Filed Sept. 20, 1961 FlG.l

INVENTOR H4 r'r/ Ha r00}:

ATTORNEY Bataan Patented June 26, 1962 3,040,330 WAISTBAND FOR GARMENTS Harry Hardie, Baltimore, Md, assignor to The Nobelt Company, Baltimore, Md, a corporation of Maryland Filed Sept. 20, 1961, Ser. No. 140,180 2 Claims. (Cl. 2237) have characteristics which are harmless or even desirable under some conditions of wear but which are undesirable under other conditions of Wear. Under some. conditions an elastic waistband that is on the outside of underpants may work above the belt of outer pants and hang there-to the discomfort of the wearer, and also to the detriment of his appearance if he be wearing a thin shirt or one of loose weave. Some waistbands tend to roll or fold over when the wearer of the garment makes certain movements.

Strips of rubber being impervious to moisture, all striprubber waistbands interfere with the vaporization and passing off of moisture from the pores of the skin. A degree of interference which may be of no consequence in cool dry weather, or when lightly dressed, can become objectionable in hot humid weather or when heavily dressed. To provide ventilation, the rubber strip in a waistband has sometimes been provided with a multiplicity of holes, but this reduces the useful life of the strip. Another method of providing ventilation is to divide the rubber of the waistband into two strips, so that moisture can pass out between them. However, the two-strip waistbands that have heretofore been proposed have had undesirable characteristics, such as being on the outside of the garment, being bulky, or tending to curl and twist.

The present invention is an improvement upon the twostrip waistband invented by me in conjunction with John F. Hargreaves and shown in US. Patent 2,112,892. That band has the advantage of being on the inside of the garment, but it tends to curl and twist. Each strip of rubber is sewed with two longitudinal rows of stitching that are interconnected by cover threads. I have found that by sewing each strip of rubber with a single row of stitching the twisting and curling can be eliminated, the ventilating and other advantages of a two-strip waistband be obtained, the advantages of a waistband on the inside of the .garment be obtained, and a thin waistband be obtained which shirrs uniformly across the band when the garment or the sheath (or both) are made of nonstretchable material and the band is sewed while the rubber is under tension.

By way of illustration and example, I am disclosing the best mode in which I have thus far contemplated carrying out my invention.

In the drawing, forming part of this specification, FIG. 1 shows a band embodying the invention, the view being a fragmentary and somewhat diagrammatic elevation looking from the outside of the garment. Layers are broken away successively to reveal the construction beneath them.

FIG. 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic section, on a larger I scale, taken as indicated by the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 but showing a slight variation as regards the location of the terminal edges of the hems. The thicknesses of the various layers are necessarily exaggerated. For-clarity of illustration, certain portions of certain of the layers are in exploded relation, rather than being in face-to-face contact as in the 'actual waistband.

The waistband .10 includes garment material, a sheath, two strips of sheet rubber and four longitudinal rows of stitches. The garment material 11 is turned inwardly and formed into an interior hem 12 at the waist opening. The sheath 14 is on the inside of the garment, the upper edge of the sheath being slightly below the folded edge of the garment material. The sheath is provided with lower and upper hems 15 and 16 which confront the garment material, the upper hem 16 being in face-toface contact with the garment-material hem 12. A wide strip of sheet rubber 17 is nested within the lower sheath hem 15 and, in the particular band shown, a narrow strip of sheet rubber 19 is nested within the garment-material hem 12. The band is sewed through and through by parallel longitudinal rows of stitches 20, 21, 22 and23.

The stitches of row 29 pass through the garment material 11, the upper rubber strip 19, the garment-material hem 12, the upper sheath hem 16 and the body of the sheath 14.

The row of stitches 21 is below the upper rubber strip 19, the stitches passing at least through the garment material 11 and the body of the sheath 14. In the form of band shown the hems 12 and 16 end at, or extend only a trifle below, the row of stitches 21 and, therefore, may or may not be intersected by the stitches of row 21. FIG. 2 shows the hems 12 and 16 ending at the row 21 and FIG. 1 shows them ending a trifle below the row 21.

The stitches of row 22 pass at least through the garment material 14, the lower rubber strip 17 and the body 14 of the sheath. In the form of band shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the hem 15 ends at, or extends only a trifle above, the row of stitches 22 and, therefore, may or may not be intersected by the stitches of row 22. FIG. 2 shows the hem 15 ending at the row 22 and FIG. 1 shows it ending a trifle above the row 22.

The row of stitches 23 is below the lower rubber strip 17, the stitches passing through the garment material 11, the lower sheath hem 15 and the body of the sheath 14.

I place the strips of rubber 17 and 19 close together, allowing only enough vertical distance between them to permit the sewing of row of stitching 21 without danger I place the rubber of the needle nicking the rubber. under tension while sewing the band, and this temporarily narrows the strips with consequent temporary increase in the width of the rubber-free sewing zone. Thus, the finished band has small vertical spacing between the upper edge of rubber strip 17 and the lower edge of rubber strip 19. Likewise, I extend the strip of rubber 17 close to row of stitches 23, allowing only enough space for the sewing of the row of stitches 2 3 without danger of the needle nicking the rubber.

As garment material 1.1 I have used nonstretchable woven fabric. I have used single-thread chain stitch for each row of stitches 20,21, 22 and 23, sewing the four rows simultaneously with a four-needle machine, Union Special type 54400. I have used a spacing of 63/64"' between rows 20 and 23, with equal distance between rows 20 and 21, 21 and 22, and 22 and 23.

As material for the sheath 14 I have used ribbed knit, flat knit and interlocked. Interlock is a form of ribbed knit, but it is softer than conventional ribbed knit and also more expensive.

For strips .17 and 19 I have used sheet rubber .012 thick. I have used-a width of /8" for strip 17 and a width of A3" for strip 19.

.As the rubber strips return to its relaxed state upon leaving the sewing station, the garment-material layer of the waistband 10 shirrs uniformly, the shining extendaoaoeao ing neatly from the top of the band to stitching 2 3 adjacent the bottom of the band. Flat knit has a small stretch as compared to conventional ribbed knit and interlock, and if flat knit is used for sheath 114 the sheath also shirrs upon return of the rubber to its relaxed state upon leaving the sewing station. This shirring is uniform and extends across the entire width of the sheath.

I claim:

1. A garment waistband comprising: garment material having an edge portion turned inwardly and formed into an interior garment-material hem at the waist opening of the garment; a sheath on the inside of the garment, the sheath being of material separate from the garment material and having lower and upper sheath-hems, the lower sheath-hem being in face-to-face contact with the garment material and the upper sheath-hem being in face-to-face contact with the garment-material hem; lower and upper strips of sheet rubber incorporated in the waistband and extending lengthwise thereof; the lower strip being nested within the lower sheath-hem and the upper strip being nested within the interior garment-material hem, and the two strips approaching each other without overlapping; a single longitudinal row of stitching securing the lower strip of rubber, such stitching being remote from the longitudinal edges of the lower strip of rubber and passing through the garment material, the lower strip of rubber, and the sheath; a single longitudinal row of stitching securing the upper strip of rubber, such stitching being remote from the longitudinal edges of the upper strip of rubber and passing through the garment material, the upper strip of rubber, the garment-material hem, the upper sheath-hem, and the sheath; a longitudinal row of stitching between the two strips of rubber, such stitching passing through the garment material and the sheath; and a row of stitching beneath the lower strip of rubber, such stitching passing through the garment material, the lower sheath-hem, and the sheath.

2. A garment waistband having two upper hems and a lower hem, said waistband comprising: garment material having an edge portion turned back and formed into a garment-material hem at the waist opening of the garment, said garment-material hem being one of said tWo upper hems of the waistband; a sheath extending longitudinally of the waist opening, the. sheath being of material separate from the garment material and having lower and upper sheath-hems, the lower sheath-hem being said lower hem of the waistband and the upper sheathhem being one of said two upper hems of the waistband, the lower sheath-hem being in face-to-face contact with the garment material and the upper sheath-hem being in face-to-face contact with said garment-material hem; lower and upper strips of sheet rubber incorporated in the waistband and extending lengthwise thereof, the lower strip being nested within the lower sheath-hem and the upper strip being nested within one of said two upper hems of the waistband, and the two strips approaching each other without overlapping; a single longitudinal row of stitching securing the lower strip of rubber, said stitching passing through the garment material, the lower strip of rubber and the sheath; a single longitudinal row of stitching secureing the upper strip of rubber, such stitching passing through the garment material, the sheath, the upper strip of rubber, and the two upper hems of the waistband; a single longitudinal row of stitching between the two strips of rubber, such stitching passing through the garment material and the sheath; and a single longitudinal row of stitching beneath the lower strip of rubber, such stitching passing through the garment material, the lower sheath-hem and the sheath.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,202,211 Page Oct. 24, 1916 2,112,892 Hardie et al Apr. 5, 1938 2,113,201 Scheitlin Apr. 5, 1938 2,138,453 Joyce Nov. 29', 1938 2,617,113 Hardie Nov. 11, 1952 

